Godmother of feminist porn is focus of new doc Candice

DOXA Documentary Film FestivalWhen: May 2 to 12Where: various Vancouver theatresTickets and Info: doxafestival.caDocumentarian Sheona McDonald has stripped away the X-rated layers of a former vanguard in the world of adult films to reveal that there was a lot more to the story of Candice Vadala than just the selling of sex.Vadala passed away from ovarian cancer in 2015 at the age of 64 but before that McDonald, who is from Horseshoe Bay, spent 18 months with her in cinema verité conversations documenting some monumental personal discoveries.Perceptions were shattered and captured on camera for her new film Candice as McDonald followed the ailing Vadala on her quest to get some answers about the mother who left her as a child and to re-connect with a half brother she thought was dead.

Horseshoe Bay filmmaker Sheona McDonald has delivered the interesting and often heartbreaking story of Candice Vadala. Seen here on a stoop in Brooklyn. Vadala was an adult film actor when she was younger then moved into running the show with her successful Femme Productions. Photo: Courtesy of DOXA

DOXA /

PNG

Candice is part of the annual DOXA Documentary Film Festival, which runs from May 2 to 12.“I think what is most compelling about Candice is just that it is a very intimate portrait of a woman who was in the limelight for many years,” said DOXA’s director of programming Selina Crammond. “What Sheona managed to do was a build a relationship with her over many years and capture a beautiful look at who she had become and some of her personal challenges and traumas. I think it is a really beautiful and intimate portrait of a woman worth celebrating.”Vadala left New York in her early 20s and travelled west to San Francisco. Soon Vadala found herself with a new career in adult films (Vadala didn’t like to use the word porn). She tried out various names but the one the stuck was Candida Royalle.“Everybody was experimenting sexually. I thought we do this behind closed doors what’s the big deal,” Vadala explains in the film.

Candice Vadala, a.k.a. Candida Royalle, went from starring in exotic movies to making ones for women. The so-called “godmother of feminist porn,” is the focus of the new movie Candice. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

Courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

But like many other women in those so-called liberating times Vadala learned that sexual freedom worked better for one of the sexes than the other.“It was kind of confusing. It gave us our right to say yes but took away our right to say no,” said Vadala. “Finally I had to admit to myself at a certain point that I had a lot of conflict.”Vadala made 25 adult movies (peanuts by today’s standards) including Hot and Saucy Pizza Girls. It should be noted that this 1978 film was one of the first to use the popular pizza delivery plot concept.It dawned on Vadala that the patriarchy of porn could be challenged and soon she put her focus on producing movies rather than staring in them.In 1984 she set up Femme Productions. The company did 18 films. It was active up until the early 2000s when Vadala first became sick. She went on to write the 2004 book How to Tell a Naked Man What to Do: Sex Advice from a Woman Who Knows.“I wanted to prove it was possible to make an artfully crafted adult movie that could appeal to intelligent adults and not insult them and degrade women,” said Vadala in the film.Her movies were dubbed feminist porn. The secret was out — women watched porn too.While this concept left many clutching their pearls it also screamed good story to media outlets. Soon Vadala was being written about, talked about and was appearing on national top-rated TV shows talking about, gasp, women enjoying sex.Most recently her story was cited as the inspiration for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character Candy on the HBO drama The Deuce.“She was a good business woman and she was happy to promote herself and her work. She was a good face for it,” said McDonald, who added Vadala did OK financially and was especially proud that she owned her own home in New York.

Sheona McDonald (left) and Candice Vadala. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

In terms of storytelling, the power of Vadala’s porn history is a no brainer. But thankfully McDonald saw there was more to her story.“I think she is interesting to talk about because there is a lot there. I think it’s a complicated subject,” said McDonald. “It has four threads and that was part of the challenge and why it took so long. How do you weave these stories?”McDonald met Vadala while she was shooting Inside Her Sex, a documentary about female sexuality that Vadala took part in.After McDonald interviewed her for that film Vadala asked her if she would help her tell her story.“So, I crazily said ‘yes,’” said McDonald who wrote, shot and edited (with a bit of help) the movie.It was a lot of work on a shoestring budget of about $70,000. McDonald said at times she thought about dumping the project.“I did struggle with it for sure. It was a hurdle for me to dig back in but it would sit on my shelf and I would be like: ‘I wish I could just leave it alone,’” said McDonald who is currently busy working on three other films. “But I kept coming back to the idea that it’s a good story — a story that should be told, so I kept picking it back up.”Candice will have its world premiere here at DOXA. You can see it May 4 at 7 p.m. at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts and on May 12 at 4:45 p.m. at Vancity Theatre.McDonald’s film is just one of 82 films slated for this year’s 21st annual festival.Opening the festival on May 3 is local filmmaker Baljit Sangra’s Because We Are Girls.

The film Because We Are Girls from Vancouver director Baljit Sangra has the honour of kicking off this year’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival on May 2-12, 2019 in Vancouver. Photo: DOXA

DOXA /

PNG

This much buzzed about feature film is the tough but empathetic story of three women from a very conservative Indo-Canadian family in Williams Lake who are coming to terms with the sexual abuse they all suffered when they were children.This is an emotionally tough story but in the end it is hopeful as the three women through their truthful actions have not only made it safer for their younger relatives, but they have set empowering examples for their own daughters and have broken the cycle of abuse.Closing out the festival on May 11 is a film about a vanguard female filmmaker and activist made by her son.New Zealand Director Hepi Mita’s film Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen is a posthumous love letter to Mita’s mother Merata Mita, the first Māori woman to write and direct a narrative feature film. Actually she is one of the first Indigenous women ever to direct and write a feature film.“I’m really thrilled to expose people to Merata. I don’t think a lot of people in the mainstream know who she is. So it is nice to honour that history,” said Crammond. “It is an inspiring way to end the festival.”dgee@postmedia.comtwitter.com/dana_gee5 DOXA must seesWith 82 features and shorts to pick from this year’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival literally has something for everyone. Here are just five other picks to fit into your festival going plan.

Gordon Lightfoot’s life is the focus of the documentary Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My MindWhen: May 4, 9:15 p.m. at SFU Goldcorp Theatre and May 12, 7 p.m. Vancity TheatreAsk a songwriter, heck ask Bob Dylan, for a list of favourite songwriters and it’s a safe bet that they’ll mention Gordon Lightfoot.Fiercely talented and influential the 80-year-old Lightfoot’s catalogue is truly one of the great songwriting collections ever. Seriously, can you find a more perfectly crafted song than The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?Packed with interviews and insights this film, directed by Canadian filmmakers Joan Tosoni and Martha Kehoe, goes from the early 1960s performances on the Toronto and New York folk scenes through the highs of mega stardom to the lows of substance abuse to his current status of cultural treasure, elder statesman and still the best rocker of the Canadian tuxedo ever.

The film Buddy shines a light on the incredible bond between humans and the service dogs that help them. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

BuddyWhen: May 5, 3:25 p.m.Where: Vancity TheatreHave some tissues on hand (good tears) for this movie about the deep bonds between humans and the clever canines that bring their exceptional skills and pawsitivly (sorry) giant hearts to their jobs as service dogs.From guide dogs for the blind to dogs that help bring some calm to the lives of a special needs kid and war veterans this film, from Dutch director Heddy Honigmann, reminds us how truly great our best friends are while educating us on how they are trained to help.You don’t have to be a dog person to enjoy this one as it is equally as interesting as it is ahhhhhhhh inspiring.

The documentary Standing on the Line takes a look at the challenges LGBTQ+ athletes face. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

Standing on the LineWhen: May 8, 12 p.m.Where: Vancity TheatreWhat’s it like being a gay elite athlete in 2019?Well, still not great.Canadian filmmaker Paul Émile D’Entremont’s movie highlights the real-life experiences of a broad range of LGBTQ+ athletes who talk frankly and openly about their lives and coming out in the world of sport.They talk about how they had to (and in many cases still have to) constantly push themselves past prejudices and excel even further in a bid to been seen as athletes, not queer athletes.They have fought hard and continue to fight in hopes that generations of LGBTQ+ athletes after them will have a taboo-free life in sport.

These two lovely mutts are the stars of the documentary Los Reyes. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

Los ReyesWhen: May 8, 6 p.m. at Vancity Theatre and May 10, 8 p.m. at CinemathequeWelcome to the Los Reyes skate park located in Santiago, Chile. It’s looks like every other skate park but in this film you look at it through the eyes of two big, black, beautiful, ball-crazy and bomb proof (they live in a busy skateboard park) dogs.The camera follows the mutts as throughout the park as play, sleep and eavesdrop (like the viewer) on faceless human conversations. This is really one of those wonderful little cinematic gems that leave a large impression.

Propaganda takes centre stage in the new and sobering documentary from Canadian director Larry Weinstein. Photo: courtesy of DOXA

courtesy of DOXA /

PNG

Propaganda: The Art of Selling LiesWhen: May 10, 12 p.m.Where: Vancity TheatreFrom the grand plans of fascist regimes to little subversive suggestions here and there Canadian director Larry Weinstein’s film looks closely at the idea of controlling people for political gain through the well-tested use of propaganda.So maybe right now when people are shouting fake news in a crowded theatre it is a good idea to be reminded of the power of this tool.